The Charlotte Hornets have been a disappointment so far this season. After reaching the playoffs last season, they hoped that the addition of Lance Stephenson would give them a boost. He has been underwhelming until now, but seems to fit better into the system in the last couple of games.
The Hornets broke the second longest active losing streak in the league when they won with a Kemba Walker buzzer beater against another struggling team, the New York Knicks.
Their opponent, the Boston Celtics, had their win streak broken in Washington Monday, where the home team got their revenge after a double overtime nail biter. In that game the Celtics bench set a new franchise scoring record with 82 points, led by Marcus Smart and Kelly Olynyk, who both were instrumental in the Celtics' huge comeback from a 23-point deficit to tie the game. Coach Brad Stevens left the bench along with Jeff Green to finish the game, except from a couple of substitutions in the second overtime period.
While the Celtics lost that game, they could still get a confidence boost out of it, since the bench has been somewhat of a problem previously. Getting rookie point guard Marcus Smart back from his ankle injury and adding Kelly Olynyk as a playmaker for the unit (after Tyler Zeller replaced him among the starters), may have fixed that and given more balanced rotations. The San Antonio Spurs team is somewhat of a blueprint for what coach Stevens is trying to do.
The season is far from over for either team. The seventh and eighth seed in the East are currently held by teams under .500 and could be up for grabs. But both teams need to find consistency soon. So far, Boston has been the more impressive of the two teams, but it is a fairly even matchup.
It could be a key factor in the game, whether Michael Kidd-Gilchrist is back from his foot injury or not. Charlotte has really missed him, while he has been out. After Tuesday's practice, he is considered "probable" for this game.
Look out for some brotherly love between Cody and Tyler Zeller. They played four times against each other last season with Cody and Charlotte winning all four games against Tyler's Cleveland Cavaliers. Tyler was a bench player in all four games, while Cody started in one. The tables might have been turned between the two brothers, now that Tyler is a regular starter.
There is always some talk when players meet a team they once played for. Charlotte's Al Jefferson was drafted by the Celtics in 2004 and played there for three seasons until he was included in the Kevin Garnett trade in 2007. The only player on the Celtics roster who was there at that time is Rajon Rondo. Boston's Gerald Wallace stint in Charlotte is more recent. He had his most successful seasons with the Charlotte Bobcats, as they were named then, leading them to the first playoff run for the franchise in 2010. He was traded at the deadline in February 2011. The only player left from that Charlotte season is Gerald Henderson, who was a rookie.